DEED announces $3M effort to help inmates find work after incarceration
(piqsels/MGN)
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says it is putting $3 million toward helping people who were incarcerated find work through a new grant program called Workforce Grants for Second-chance Workers.
According to Hubbard-owned affiliate KAAL-TV, the grants will expand resources such as career counseling and skills training, both of which are said to be needed after being released from prison, according to Kendall Hughes, the chairperson of the Three Rivers Restorative Justice Board of Directors, and Dondi Mcintosh, who works with Three Rivers Restorative Justice and was also incarcerated for 15 years.
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Mcintosh was released from prison at the Federal Medical Center about two years ago. He told KAAL it was hard to get housing, transportation and a job due to barriers to rehabilitation after serving time in prison.
The state also hopes the program will help solve the worker shortage.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the program.
“Minnesota’s unemployment rate is the lowest in the nation and companies statewide are looking for qualified workers to fill open positions in numerous fields,” DEED Commissioner Steve Grove told KAAL.
An informational webinar will be held next Tuesday, Oct. 18 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.